


When You Gaze Long Into The Abyss

by wordyanansi



Series: Bellarke Fic Week - July 2015 [4]
Category: Psycho-Pass, The 100 (TV)
Genre: Bellarke, Bellarke Fic Week, F/M, Linctavia - Freeform, You probably don't have to have watched psycho-pass to get it, clarke/finn past relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-23
Updated: 2015-07-23
Packaged: 2018-04-10 18:34:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4402769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wordyanansi/pseuds/wordyanansi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bellamy follows his sister to Washington DC, because he doesn't know what else do when she and her husband move there. </p><p>His transfer into the Washington DC Public Safety Bureau (WDCPSB) is not what he was expecting, and neither was his new partner, Clarke Griffin, or their Enforcers. His pretty sure, whatever PSB you're in, you're not meant to fall in love with your partner. And Clarke seems like a stickler for the rules.</p>
            </blockquote>





	When You Gaze Long Into The Abyss

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so Psycho-Pass, quick glossary/explanation:  
> It's a futuristic world where SYBIL measures your psycho-pass/crime coefficient and an aptitude test and tells what jobs you are approved to do. You do not get to do a job you aren't approved for.  
> Psycho-pass is measured by guns called Dominators.  
> Healthy psycho-pass: 0- 99 (Dominator can't shoot you)  
> Latent criminal psycho-pass: 100 - 299 (Dominator can stun you)  
> Evil mofo psycho-pass: 300+ (Dominator unlocked at lethal)  
> PSB = Public safety bureau which is the police force. Inspectors are "healthy" people who do the detecting and there use "Enforcers", latent criminals to do the shit that would mess up their psycho pass. 
> 
> Confused? Don't be. Just read the damn story. I'm so flipping proud of this thing like you wouldn't believe. It's one of the, in my opinion, best fics I've ever written.

Bellamy doesn't really know what to expect when he transfers into division six of the WDCPSB. He's been working for the Public Safety Bureau in California for a half dozen years, but his sister's husband has become an Approved Artist, and moving to Washington D.C. was recommended, so he followed her, because he didn't really know what else to do.

 

Whatever he was expecting from his new team, it wasn't Inspector Clarke Griffin. She's short, blonde, and has a blue-eyed glare that could melt steel. And he can't help but like her. He meets her at a crime scene, just as the Enforcers are arriving. When he introduces himself, she looks him up and down critically, and then sighs. He immediately feels uncomfortable. Women looking him up and down normally smile, but she looks disappointed.

"So you're my new partner, huh? They tell me you were stationed out in California?" she asks him. He nods.

"Yes. For six years," Bellamy replies. She sniffs, and watches the door to the Enforcers van roll up.

"This isn't California. This guy's psycho pass is at 250, and he's taken a woman hostage," Clarke says, loud enough for the Enforcers to overhear. There are four of them, and she gives them a nod of acknowledgment.

"Jake, Finn, Monty, Echo, this is Inspector Bellamy Blake. He's your new boss," Clarke says, dispensing of pleasantries quickly. There's not even time for him to defend the work he did in California, though she might have a point. It's smaller than Washington D.C., and the worst psycho pass he's seen out there was 210 - his Dominator had never activated beyond non-lethal, and normally the criminals he apprehended were in the mid hundreds. The laid-back Californian lifestyle was good for the soul, or the psycho pass.

"Nice to meet you, son," Jake says.

"You still think I'm the best looking guy on the team, right Clarke?" Finn asks. Clarke scowls at him.

"I'd sell you all up the river for Monty," Clarke bites back, and Bellamy covers his smile with a cough. Echo looks him up and down and smiles like a predator.

"Mmm, fresh meat," she says, showing all of her teeth. Clarke rolls her eyes.

"Alright, Echo, Monty, you're with me. Finn, Jake, you're with the new guy. You know my rules," Clarke tells them. Bellamy wonders what her rules are, and how they are different to the handbook they are instructed to follow, but he doesn't say anything. "Stay on comms and use the Dominators to scan."

"Yeah, yeah, request permission before we shoot," Finn says, rolling his eyes like he's heard it a million times, and he probably has.

"Try not to shoot the victim," Echo adds. "You're no fun, boss lady." Clarke scowls at them again.

"Let's get this over with, division six," Clarke bites at them. She gives Bellamy one last look, and he feels like she's trying to assess if he's really cut out for this. But he gives her a quick nod, the moment is over, and she signals they are to go in through the side, as she and her team enter through the main doors. He wonders, briefly, as the Enforcers enter ahead of him, if he should mention to Inspector Griffin that he's technically got seniority over her, but that's probably a fight for another day.

 

"Don't be too hard on her," Jake says, he's the oldest of the Enforcers, but his hair is holding it's sandy colour, and he looks fit for his age. "She's been through a lot to get that tough." Bellamy looks at the man from the corner of his eye.

"Didn't know Enforcers were so informal in Washington D.C.," he comments dryly.

"We've been together for a while," Finn offers. "Clarke used to be different. Before-."

"That is not your story to tell, Collins," Jake snaps. "Focus on the task at hand." And then he pauses, holding up a fist to request they stop. "Up ahead to the left," Jake whispers. Bellamy nods his assent, and goes to step forward, but Jake puts an arm out to block him.

"Excuse me?" Bellamy demands at a whisper.

"You're not as expendable as us," Jake replies with a factual tone that hurts Bellamy a little, if he's being honest. He doesn't like to think about any life as expendable. But here they were. Jake motions to Finn, who steps forward with a smile, Dominator at the ready, and Jake follows him on the other side of the hallway, and Bellamy trails behind him. Finn nods at Jake as he approaches a doorway, signalling that there is someone inside. The building was evacuated once the psycho pass was registered by a random scanner, so Bellamy knows that this is most likely the room containing the criminal and his hostage. Bellamy taps his wrist to bring up communication to Clarke.

"We think we have him on the west side of the building. Level three, western corridor," Bellamy says quietly, and she nods.

"Right, we're coming for you. Proceed with caution if you can't wait," Clarke says, and she shuts off the communication as soon as she registers his nod. The Enforcers are looking at him, waiting. He can hear the hostage moaning, and the criminal talking to her, low and fast. He sets his jaw.

"If we wait, we risk the hostage's psycho pass getting too high, turning her latent," Jake whispers. "The longer he talks, and the more scared she is..." Bellamy nods.

"Proceed," Bellamy says, and Finn spins around, Dominator pointed into the room. The hostage screams and the criminal launches himself at Finn. Finn dodges out of the way with surprising grace, and Jake kicks out at the criminal, knocking him to the ground, and holding his chest there with his foot. Bellamy watches in fascination as the scene unfolds.

"We've got two options here, punk. We can take you quietly for processing and psychological treatment, or you can force me to take you out right now. You've got a psycho-pass of 313, my Dominator is in lethal mode. Make a choice," Jake growls.

"We've got a problem," Finn calls out. "She's at 139 and climbing. I'm activated at non-lethal" Bellamy cuts into the room, holstering his Dominator, leaving Jake to handle the criminal. Another point, Bellamy thinks, and she’ll be judged as unable to recover.

"Lower the Dominator," Bellamy snaps, irritated at the Enforcer's carelessness. Finn holsters the Dominator as Bellamy kneels in front of the victim, his hands facing out placatingly.

"Hey, hey, hey, it's okay. You're okay, we've got you," Bellamy says soothingly. "Hi, I'm Bellamy, what's your name?" he asks the woman. She's in her thirties, visibly shaking, her clothes torn. He wants to tell Jake to shoot the bastard for violating her, but he holds his tongue, trying to focus on the woman in front of him.

"Mel, my name is Mel," she stammers. "He was going to kill me. He was going to... to..."

"Hey, I've got you, it's okay. He's not going to hurt you anymore," Bellamy soothes. He hears movement behind him, and Mel scampers back, pressing herself tighter against the wall. He glances over his shoulder to see Echo and Clarke enter the room. He waves at them to lower their Dominators but, Clarke aims at Mel, and she whimpers.

"She's going to kill me! He darkened my psycho pass and now the PSB are going to kill me!" Mel shrieked. Bellamy shifted slightly closer, his palms flat towards her again.

"Hey, it's okay. Take a deep breath. Good. And another one. Hey, there were go. Keep breathing," Bellamy says.

"Her psycho pass is 130. She might not come back from this, Bellamy," Clarke says behind him.

"It was 139. Give me five minutes," Bellamy says, his voice still calm and soothing despite his frustration.

"It was," Finn agrees. And Bellamy wants to hit him, despite the fact he's agreeing with him, and he doesn't really know why.

"He was going to hurt me," Mel whimpers.

"It's over now, Mel. It's over, and no one is going to hurt you again," Bellamy promises, like he would if she was his sister, and she looks up at him with big eyes. He ignores the scoff one of the women makes behind him.

"I'm going to be safe now?" Mel asks. Bellamy smiles at her encouragingly.

"You bet," Bellamy promises. "It was just a bad day. Tomorrow will be brighter. It will never be this bad again." Mel nods, and stops shaking, but she reaches out and clutches his hand. He hears someone surge forward behind him.

"It's okay, I'm okay, we're okay," Bellamy says, and the movement ceases. He looks back to Mel. "How about you? Are you okay?" Mel nods.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Mel says. Bellamy smiles at her again.

"Do you think we could use the Dominator to check your hue now?" Bellamy asks. "If we promise not to shoot?" Mel bites her lip, and nods carefully.

"It's okay to be scared," Bellamy reminds her. "Just remember that it's going to pass and that tomorrow will be brighter." He pulls out his Dominator and aims at Mel. 93. He breathes a sigh of relief, and looks back at Clarke and gives her a nod. She's looking at him in a way he can't quite decipher.

"You're going to have to do some counselling, but you're going to be okay," Bellamy tells Mel, and she launches herself forward to hug him. He tries to disentangle himself, but there is no one else to hold on to (there's no way he's handing a civilian over to an Enforcer, and Clarke doesn't exactly look welcoming, despite her beauty). He stands up, and she follows him.

"What's the hallway situation?" he asks Clarke. No need to expose Mel to more darkness, he thinks to himself. She glances over her shoulder. She taps her wrist to bring up comms.

"Jake," she says tightly.

"I've got it. Loading him into the van now," Jake says through comms. Clarke nods.

"Stay with the van, we'll be there soon," Clarke tells him, and then disconnects. She gives Bellamy a nod. "We're good." Bellamy nods in response, and walks Mel past Clarke and the Enforcers, and out of the building.

 

Later, when the Enforcers have been dismissed for the night, and Bellamy and Clarke are working side by side on their respective reports, she asks him what he thought he was doing, her voice tight with irritation.

"With Mel?" he clarifies.

"The hostage," she automatically corrects.

"She was scared. It was making her crime coefficient too high. So I calmed her down to lower it," he shrugs.

"That's not exactly WDCPSB sanctioned methodology, Blake," Clarke says, her voice tight.

"It might not be, but maybe it should be," Bellamy tells her. "It's how my mother died. Taken hostage, raped, and then shot by the Cali-PSB before she was given a chance to calm down. I'm not saying she would ever have gotten clear again. But she deserved a chance." Clarke studies him, and he finds himself transfixed by a mole above her lip.

"That kind of talk can get a man in trouble," Clarke says after a moment. But there's something she's not saying.

"And?" he asks, challenge clear in his voice. He's not going to apologise for what he did, or what he believes. He doesn't know what he'd do with himself if she gets him fired, but he's not going to pretend he's someone he's not either.

"I might agree with you. But you're probably going to get yourself killed one day, SIBYL is never wrong. Or you're going to go dark," Clarke points out. He can hear an undercurrent in her tone when she mentions SIBYL that intrigues him. Bellamy shrugs.

"My mother died when I was seventeen, and I've been doing this for six years, and I'm still clear enough," he says, leaning back in his chair, stretching his back. Clarke works her jaw and stares at the screen in front of her.

"What you do is your business, but you compromise my investigation or apprehension of a criminal, and I will report you," Clarke says, not looking at him.

"But you're not reporting me now?" Bellamy asks, just to be sure. She stares straight ahead.

"No," she says after a moment. "I'm not." Bellamy decides to call it a win, and says goodbye soon after. Clarke gives him a nod he takes to mean the same thing. He figures that's probably effusive for Clarke, or at least he hopes it is.

 

"So what are they like? Your new division?" Octavia asks him. Bellamy wonders how to explain them.

"Inspector Griffin is intense, but I think she's good at her job. The Enforcers are okay. They're Enforcers," Bellamy shrugs. Octavia gives him a look.

"That's the best you can do?" she challenges him. He sighs.

"It's the best I'm going to do," Bellamy returns. Lincoln sits down at the table with them.

"What did I miss?" he asks. Bellamy's always been impressed with the stoicism of his sister's husband, and the size of him. After he'd gotten his over-protective big brother thing out of the way, he learned to respect the guy.

"Bell's in love with his new partner," Octavia says. "And he likes the Enforcers." Bellamy frowns.

"I said exactly none of that," he protests. Lincoln smiles.

"Whatever. I know you. You've been surrounded with intense, brilliant women all your life, of course you're going to fall in love with one," Octavia says. Bellamy scoffs.

"Don't you think after being surrounded with intense, brilliant women that I might want to find a quiet, polite one to marry?" Bellamy asks.

"No," says Lincoln, and it's the firmest he's been about anything, except the way he'd said 'I do' during the wedding. There is a moment of shocked silence, before Bellamy and Octavia start to laugh. Lincoln shifts nervously and changes the subject.

 

Jake finds him the next morning as Bellamy's getting himself coffee.

"Did Clarke give you a hard time yesterday?" he asks. Bellamy shakes his head.

"No, she was fine," Bellamy says.

"Her last partner was killed by a hostage," Jake says. "They'd been friends for a long time, and he trusted he could talk a little girl down after she'd witnessed the murders of her parents. She stabbed him in the neck with a shard of glass."

"You've been with her a long time," Bellamy says quietly. "I have a feeling she wouldn't want you telling me that."

"I'm invested in her well being," Jake says. "Let's leave it at that." Bellamy thinks about pushing it, but Jake walks away and he doesn't have the heart to pull rank and call him back. But he thinks he understands Clarke a little better now.

 

The next case they get assigned seems to be some kind of identity fraud using online identities. Monty is talking a mile a minute about something Bellamy can't understand for the life of him and Clarke looks on almost fondly.

"I have no idea what you're saying," Clarke tells him, but it's gentle. Monty almost blushes, folding in on himself.

"Can you say it again in plain English?" Bellamy tries. "Pretend I'm an idiot."

"You are an idiot," Clarke says, lightning fast. Finn and Echo laugh, and Jake looks away, trying to hide his smile, and Monty looks like he could almost smile if he wasn't so nervous. Clarke looks horrified at herself, but Bellamy smiles. It's the first real crack in her armour, past the Inspector and into the person underneath, and he likes what he sees.

"Fine, I'm an idiot," he agrees. "Explain it for me, Monty." Monty does, and Bellamy listens intently, and definitely does not feel smug about the small smile resting on Clarke's face that he can see out of the corner of his eye.

 

It's been two days, and Bellamy doesn't feel like they are any closer to actually figuring this case out. He thinks that about a study he read that he was never meant to see, one that linked high levels of intelligence to raised crime coefficients, and he thinks that must be the case for Monty, because he seemed like he wouldn't hurt a fly. He also figured that the guy they were hunting was crazy smart, and his psycho pass was going to be really dark when they found him. Clarke left him a message he received as he walked into the WDCPSB building to meet her in tech support. He brings up the map on his wrist to guide him there, he's not ashamed to admit he still gets lost in the building sometimes. He pushes the door open and stops dead at the sight of  stern and surly Iinspector Clarke Griffin laughing with a stunning latina woman. He tries to set his features into an impassive mask, but he doesn't think he quite manages it before Clarke notices him.

"Nice of you to join us, Blake," she says, laughter still haunting the edges of her voice.

"So you're the new guy. Echo was right, you're good looking," the latina woman smiles, appraising him.

"Bellamy Blake," he introduces himself, stepping forward and offering his hand.

"Raven Reyes, resident latent criminal IT support," she introduces herself, like she's daring him to pull his hand before she takes it. But he holds firm. He can see Clarke looking at him curiously, slight frown marring her features as they shake hands. He supposes he's meant to pull back, be horrified she's an Enforcer, but he's not. It's probably something she'll put in the evaluation he just knows she's sending up the line.

"Raven thinks she's found something," Clarke says, indicating the screen.

"Raven knows she found something," she corrects, and she acknowledges Monty, who Bellamy hadn't even realised was in the room, with a smile. "Well, we found something," Raven's voice changed with the affection that everyone eles's seems to when they spoke to Monty. Monty blushed, and ducked his head.

"I should have found it faster," Monty said. "Sorry." Clarke and Raven exchange a look of fond exasperation.

"Just tell him what you found," Clarke says.

"He's bouncing the signal. Different pathways each time, but they all seem to lead here, to the warehouse district," Raven says, pointing at the map.

"And we're still standing here because?" Bellamy asks.

"Waiting for your lazy ass to arrive," Clarke snaps, and Bellamy forces himself not to smile as she strides past him, beckoning Monty with a gesture to follow.

"Thanks Raven, you're brilliant," Clarke tosses over her shoulder.

"Damn straight I am," Raven confirms smugly, and Bellamy gives her a grin and a nod as he leaves.

"Come visit me again, new guy," she adds as he leaves. Anyone that can make Clarke laugh seems like a solid addition to his friend list, so he promises he will as he walks out of her office.

 

Bellamy's got no idea how this guy has been dodging scanners, but he's managed it. He thinks about noting it in his report; that the warehouse district needs more scanners. But there's a part of him that doesn't have the implicit trust in SYBIL that he probably should, and he's always surprised when his morning hue check comes up in the mid-twenties to early-thirties. Regardless, as much as he hates to admit it, he's distracted when it happens, and it's on him. All he knows is that he's sent Echo up ahead, and trusted Jake to take a corridor behind him, and he's not expecting the criminal to burst out of a door and rush him before he even has a chance to trigger the Dominator for a scan. He is slammed into the wall behind him, and he shoves the criminal back, getting in a punch, trying to put distance between them to raise the Dominator. The scuffle causes Echo to call for him, and he manages to shout 'backup' before the criminal gets another punch in. Bellamy brings his knee up, but the criminal has lost all grip on sanity, he knows he's going to die the second a Dominator is pointed at him, and he's desperate. The knee he lands should have doubled the guy over, but it doesn't, and the fight continues in tight proximity, when they're locked together in a volley of grunts, punches, and kicks. He hears Echo shout his name, Clarke barking something at him through comms, the criminal gives him one last shove, and he remembers falling, and then nothing.

 

When he comes to, Clarke is slumped in the chair beside his hospital bed, scowling at him with her arms folded.

"You're an asshole," Clarke says. He attempts a cough, and discovers he's definitely cracked at least one rib.

"Good morning to you too," Bellamy croaks. "How long was I out?" She looks at him even more darkly.

"Six hours," she says, and her tone seems to be daring him to ask how long she'd been sitting there.

"Please tell me no one called Octavia," he says. Clarke raised her eyebrows, like it was a ridiculous question. And it is. She's his next of kin, they had to call her the second he was unconscious, WDCPSB guidelines. And Clarke did like to follow the guidelines.

"You're not going to question me calling you an asshole?" she asks instead.

"You always call me an asshole, it didn't seem to be new," Bellamy states. She scoffs..

"You're an asshole," she says again. Bellamy grinned at her.

"You care," he says, wonder lacing his tone. "I'm an asshole because I got hurt and made you worry." Clarke goes back to her scowl, and he wonders if he should have tried for teasing instead of pleased. But now he knew that despite everything else, she liked him, and it felt like a win. He almost didn't mind the cracked ribs and the concussion.

"It's called paperwork, jackass, and I hate it," Clarke snaps at him, tightening her posture. Bellamy's grin didn't shift.

"You love it," Bellamy replies, smug. Clarke throws her hands in the air as she stands up, huffing her indignance.

"Whatever, asshole," Clarke says as she walks out of the room. "Just don't do this again." Bellamy laughs.

"You're not so bad yourself, Griffin," he calls out after her. He'd place money on her smiling right now. He gets exactly four minutes of victory before Octavia storms in, ranting about him being an idiot. But he still couldn't shake the grin from his face because Clarke Griffin liked him.

 

Desk duty is the worst, and he has it for four weeks while he "recovers" from his injury after his two weeks of sick leave. Clarke drops a file on his desk on the first day back and tells him he's lucky that he's not receiving probation or punishment for letting the situation happen. He replies that desk duty seems like punishment enough, and she gives him a short, sharp laugh. It's the first he's earned in the month they've been working together, and he couldn't have been more pleased if he'd won the lottery.

 

He finds himself seeking out Raven at least once a day. She's funny, whip smart, and has no filter when it comes to sharing her opinion, which is probably why she's a latent criminal. But it's also why he likes her so much. Captain Kane pulls him aside after his fourth visit.

"Raven Reyes is a latent criminal with a crime coefficient of 243," Captain Kane says, like this is meant to be new and highly relevant information to Bellamy's decision making process, and it probably should be.

"I'm aware, sir," Bellamy replies respectfully.

"I'm sure I don't need to tell you that regular association and familiarity with latent criminals often leads to increased crime coefficients," Captain Kane adds. Bellamy knows this is meant to be a warning, maybe even an unspoken order: 'don't befriend the latent criminals if you want to keep your job'.

"I understand, sir," Bellamy says. Captain Kane looks him up and down.

"The Enforcers are the dogs of the WDCPSB," Captain Kane says after a pause. "And they will bite the hand that feeds them if you aren't careful." Bellamy fights not to show his anger at the sentiment, no matter how often it is bandied about among the other Inspectors.

"Sir," is all Bellamy manages to say, and after one last look, Captain Kane walks away. Bellamy stands in the hallway with clenched fists and a locked jaw. They're still people, he thinks. He thinks about Jake, and the steady and sure way he approaches every situation, the way he looks out for everyone on the team. About Echo's predatory nature, and he doesn't trust her on her own, but he does trust her to have his back. Finn doesn't care about the rules at all, and his guiding principle seems to be fun - but he's never once disobeyed an order in the field, and while he might show off once in a while, and while Bellamy might not particularly like the guy, he's not a bad person. And then there's Monty, who he still has no idea as to how he even became a latent criminal. But then, latent criminals don't always commit crimes, he reminds himself, They're just more likely to, more able to. And there is no doubt in his mind that Monty could commit crimes, but he never would. Not unless he thought he was doing the right thing. And maybe that's the secret of SYBIL, that latent criminals are really just chaotically aligned, and he wonders why he isn't one, yet again. And then he goes to see Raven, who is ranting about one of the guys down in engineering who seems completely unable to fix a holo-costume without her help. He wonders if she realises that the corners of her mouth quirk upwards when she snaps his name out. She breaks in the day’s rant to raise her eyebrows at him.

"So, you ever actually gonna make a move on Clarke?" Raven asks, and Bellamy nearly spits out his coffee. "What? Were you trying to be subtle?" she deadpans at him.

"No, actually, I just didn't realise I was planning on making a move on Clarke," Bellamy replies, his voice dry. Raven rolls her eyes.

"Whatever, Romeo. You get this smug little smile every time you make her smile. I'm just asking because she's my friend," Raven replies. Bellamy shakes his head.

"She's makes me earn them. Getting on with her makes my job easier," Bellamy tries to defend himself. Raven snorts.

"You're so full of shit, Blake. For what it's worth, she likes you too. But, you break her heart, there's a line of people who'll be happy to break your face," Raven offers, looking back at her screens and tapping something on one of her keyboards. Bellamy thinks about this for a moment.

"I think she might actually break my face just for asking her out," Bellamy says. "And I like my face. This face has worked very well for me." Raven snorts again.

"Whatever, pretty boy," Raven says. "I need to actually do some work so they don't send me back to the asylum." Bellamy stands up, but he scoffs at her words.

"Nah, they need you too much. You've got a brilliant mind," Bellamy says.

"I will definitely break your face if you're asking me out. I do not have time for that mess," Raven says without looking at him. "But I am awesome." Bellamy grins as he leaves. Sure he might not have many civilian friends in D.C., or even, if he's honest, back in California. But he does like the friends he has, even if they are latent criminals.

 

He's having dinner with Octavia and Lincoln to celebrate going back on active duty, when the subject comes up again.

"When are you going to ask out Clarke?" Octavia asks, and fortunately the fork is only halfway to his mouth so he's not spitting food at least.

"I wasn't planning on it," Bellamy replies, his had frozen in mid-air.

"Not even I believe you right now," Lincoln says. Bellamy glares at him, but it doesn't have any real heat.

"She was really worried about you. Basically wouldn't leave the hospital room," Octavia comments. Bellamy wonders why she's left it until now to bring it up. Clarke's basically avoided him ever since he hit desk duty, handing him the occasional file to research, and bouncing the odd idea off him. But she's keeping herself distant, and he's letting her. He's pretty sure it's not like she's waiting for him to confess his (non-existent) undying love.

"She was terrifying," Lincoln adds. "I think she made a doctor cry." Bellamy snorts, wishing he'd seen that.

"Sounds like Clarke," Bellamy agrees. Octavia gives him a look.

"Sure, big brother, you don't like her at all," she says sarcastically.

"I never said I didn't like her. Just said I wasn't going to ask her out," Bellamy defends himself. Octavia looks at him, disappointed.

"Sometimes, Bell, you really are an idiot," Octavia says dryly. "You smile when you talk about her and she's cares about you a lot."

"We're partners, O. Leave it alone," Bellamy says quietly. He knows he isn't helping his case here, but he doesn't really know what to say that isn't a lie. Because Octavia isn't going to believe that Clarke doesn't like him like that. At least, he doesn't think so. And he's not stupid enough to invest in a relationship he can't have. Lincoln changes the subject, and starts talking about the collection he's working on. Bellamy smiles at him gratefully and tries not to think about Clarke's smile and does not wonder about what she'd think about Lincoln's work.

 

Two months after he goes back on active duty, Clarke gets hurt. She's chasing down a criminal who had managed to kill three men and keep her psycho pass low enough to skate under the radar most of the time. It's probably the worst case Bellamy has ever seen, but Clarke seems unfazed by the whole thing until they get out into the field, and then he's never seen Clarke push herself so hard and refuse to listen to him when he tells her to wait for back-up. They're running through the docks, and the criminal climbs on top of a shipping container. Clarke follows, even as he's telling her to wait for an Enforcer, or him, or anyone, but she just shouts back to follow from the ground in case she loses her. He feels sick every time he watches her jump from container to container, and he tells himself it's got nothing to do with anything except a normal level of concern for his partner.  And then she falls.

 

He runs for her, but Jake makes it there first, sliding to his knees and cupping her head.

"Clarke!" he cries out. "I've got you, sweetheart." He strokes her hair and Bellamy feels like an idiot for not realising it sooner. He stares at the scene before him stupidly.

"I've got her, go," Jake snaps at him, and Bellamy is galvanized into motion again, running after the criminal. He sees Echo ahead of him, catching up, and he pushes after her. Finn is coming in from the other side of the shipping containers, and he can see him in flashes. He disappears, and Bellamy spares a thought for him, before he notices that he's made it on top of the containers. Reckless, he has the time to think, just as Clarke was reckless getting up there. He shoves Clarke out of his mind again.

"Echo, get on the right," Bellamy calls out, and she cuts through the containers to the other side without losing pace. He hits comms, still running.

"Raven, how are we doing with tracking her?" he says, breathing heavily as he ran.

"I've got nothing. She ditched her tech. Monty's trying to work on  thermal, but we're having authorisation problems," Raven replies, her voice distracted, and kind of annoyed at the interruption.

"Well do something!" Bellamy bites out, unable to hide the frustration in his tone. "Clarke is down. Jake is with her. We're running out of manpower down here." There is a moment of silence through the comms, and he thinks it is the first time he's ever heard Raven speechless. He doesn't stop running, still looking ahead for the Enforcers and the criminal.

"280 - she's getting desperate!" Finn calls, and Bellamy reads him in person and over the comms.

"Take the shot!" Bellamy snaps. "If you have it, take it."

"10-4," Finn replies.

"Still working on thermal," Raven says. "Monty says we can go not so legal faster." Bellamy's still running, and he's exhausted. He's worried about Clarke, worried about Finn, about the criminal getting away, reeling about Jake and Clarke's relationship.

"Whatever you've got to do," Bellamy says."I'll take responsibility."

"Are you sure?" Raven asks.

"I can't get a shot," Finn says.

"I've lost sight, I'm following footsteps here," Echo says.

"Ambulance is on it's way," Jake says. Bellamy swallows.

"I'm sure," Bellamy says firmly. "I'm not letting her get away."

"Eight minutes," Monty says, quiet and confident. For all that he's just approved a criminal act, he feels momentarily better knowing that he's going to have another course of action soon. He hears a crash and prays it wasn't Finn.

"She's on ground level. The Dominator is lethal," Echo says over comms. There is something in Echo's voice and he knows in a split second that the woman is immobilised. He sets his jaw.

"Take the shot," Bellamy says. He hopes he's a good enough man to regret it. He hopes his psycho pass darkens, and he hopes it doesn't, because he knows what he's done.

"Subject terminated," Echo says, and there's an edge of pleasure in her voice that makes him uncomfortable.

"We don't need thermal," Bellamy tells Raven, slowing down as he approaches Echo and the blood stain that was the criminal (Emily Lewis, his brain supplies). Echo smiles at him, and he wonders what would happen if he scanned her. He turns away.

"Call WDCPSB and get them to send out a clean up crew," Bellamy says over his shoulder. Finn drops down beside him and looks at the blood. He knows he's meant to give them an order, but he doesn't have it in him, and his brain is screaming for Clarke. He just walks away and trusts them to sort themselves out.

 

He reaches where he left Clarke and Jake, the ambulance hasn't arrived yet, and he crouches down beside them. She's not conscious, and his stomach bottoms out.

"She's breathing and her pulse is strong," Jake says softly. "She's going to be okay." Bellamy nods slowly.

"I didn't know," Bellamy says. Jake smiles at him.

"That you loved her or that I was her father?" Jake asks. Bellamy snaps his head up, staring into his soft blue eyes (he definitely should have figured this out earlier), and Jake's smiling. Bellamy swallows.

"Neither," he says. And then, "I'm not in love with her." Jake raised his eyebrow.

"She's unconscious, son. She's not gonna know if you tell me," Jake says. Bellamy shook his head.

"She doesn't feel like that about me," Bellamy says, instead of another pointless denial, not even he was buying it anymore.

"I'm her father," Jake says. Bellamy waits. "You didn't know. She's a closed book. And she's been through enough she doesn't know how not to be. She might not want to like you, but she does."

"That's not exactly a ringing endorsement," Bellamy replies.

"Either way, you've got my approval, if it matters at all," Jake offers. Bellamy can see the ambulance arrive and he moves to hail them. The next few minutes are a blur of activity as Clarke is loaded into the ambulance and it drives away. Jake and Bellamy are left standing together, watching it drive away.

"It matters," Bellamy says."That you approve." Jake nods.

"You're a good guy, Bellamy. A little old-fashioned, and you probably aren't going to help her psycho pass stay clear, or vice versa. But your good partners, and that matters more sometimes," Jake says. "I will, of course, break you in half if you break her heart." Bellamy laughs.

"Yeah, I've heard there will be a queue," he comments, and Jake laughs as Finn and Echo approach.

"Clean up crew is here. We good to go, boss man?" Echo asks. Bellamy looks at her. He makes a mental note to radio ahead to make sure they get scanned on arrival. Even if it means he gets sent to rehabilitation. He's not sure about Echo anymore, and he can't have people he's not sure about on his team.

 

His psycho pass is 38, the highest it has ever been, and he's referred for mandatory counselling. Echo's is 245, exceeding the maximum crime coefficient for an Enforcer. She's furious and fights, and in the end she gets hit with a non lethal Dominator and taken away. He's ashamed of how relieved he is. Jake can't go to the hospital; Enforcers can only leave the WDCPSB building on assignment. So he practically hustles Bellamy out the door, telling him the report can wait, or he can write it on his PDA while he waits for Clarke to wake up. He pretends to protest for about five minutes, and then Raven appears. It's the first time he's seen her outside of her office, he’d thought she actually lived in there. He barely has time for the shock to register when she yells at him, shoving him backwards. He calls off a passing Inspector who wants to accuse her of assault (he does not want to see what the WDCPSB would do without her), so he takes their advice and heads to the hospital. He's not even sure why he was protesting in the first place. He's also not sure how he got to be so friendly with the Enforcers, he's definitely going to be given another talking to from Captain Kane. He can't bring himself to care.

 

"You're an asshole," Bellamy says when Clarke wakes up. She glares at him. She looks paler than she's ever been, and her hair is tangled, and she's beautiful. He's even comforted by her ability to glare.

"Back at you," she says. "Did we get her?" Bellamy shakes his head.

"You were reckless," he says. Clarke huffs.

"Did we get her?" she asks again. Bellamy sets his jaw.

"It might come as a shock to you, Clarke, but I am technically the senior Inspector here. Why the hell were you so reckless? I told you to wait," Bellamy replies. Clarke shakes her head, and winces, and then glares at him again.

"I'm tired and my head hurts. If you're going to lecture me on using Enforcers to mitigate risks for Inspectors, you can save it for later," Clarke bites at him. Bellamy makes a small noise of disbelief.

"You know I don't think of them like that," Bellamy tells her, trying not to be offended she thinks that of him.

"Everyone else does," Clarke snaps back, and he hears it then, the defensiveness over her father, her friendship with Raven, the rumours he'd heard about her and Finn when she was straight out of training, before he was an Enforcer. She might like to follow the guidelines, but she doesn’t always agree with them.

"Fine," Bellamy says, standing up. "Echo took her out. And Echo's no longer on the team, she scanned too high on return." He gets two steps towards the door before Clarke speaks again.

"I was worried about her," Clarke admits. Bellamy stops at the sound of her voice, and nods at her words.

"I think it might be my fault," he admits. "I think she didn't need to take the shot to apprehend, and I told her to take it anyway." There is a pause just long enough for Bellamy to think he should just walk out and not look back.

"It's not on you, Bellamy. She enjoyed it. It wouldn't have gone up enough for remand if she didn't enjoy it," Clarke says quietly. "How is your psycho pass?" It's a rude question, but it's Clarke, and she sounds scared. He'd tell anyone except his sister to shove it normally, but it's Clarke.

"38," he admits. "I jumped ten points today." He still can't look at her.

"Hey, it's just a bad day, tomorrow will be brighter," Clarke says softly, and he jerks his head to look at her in shock. She's smiling guiltily, and he can tell she knows that she has quoted him back to himself. He doesn't quite know what to say to that.

"It's not a secret that I like you, Bellamy," she says, looking at her hands folding together on top of the bedspread.

"I think it might be," Bellamy says, still staring at her. She shrugs.

"Inspectors aren't good bets," she says after a moment. "We don't... we see enough and eventually we go dark. Become Enforcers, get forced into retirement, or stuck in asylums. My..." her voice trails off.

"I know about Jake. And Finn," Bellamy says. She looks up at him. "And Wells," he adds after a beat. She frowns.

"How do you know about Wells?" she asks. "That was a sealed file."

"They care about you. They wanted me to understand you, to be on your team," Bellamy offers. Clarke frowns.

"I didn't think I was so transparent," she admits.Bellamy smiles.

"If it's any consolation, I didn't believe any of them when they said you might like me," Bellamy tries, and she laughs. God, he loves that sound.

"That does actually make me feel better, thanks," Clarke says, and she's smiling directly at him. He can't even begin to imagine the dumb grin on his own face. And then he thinks that this is going really well and if it goes on much longer that he's bound to screw it up.

"Well, I have a report to write, and I think our friends might be willing to go into remand if I don't let them know you're okay," he says, taking another step toward the door. "And you probably need your rest."

"Wait," Clarke says, and Bellamy stops again, looking at her, but she won't meet his eye again. "If you want, you could stay. Do it here," Clarke says. Bellamy smiles slowly.

"You want me to stay with you?" he asks carefully. He's aware it's a stupid question, and he's probably setting himself up for disappointment, but he can't help himself. She clearly doesn't want to give him an answer.

"Because I can stay if you want me to," he presses. She looks up at him, biting her lip, and he thinks that he would probably do pretty much anything she wanted.

"I want you to stay," Clarke tells him, her voice is quiet. And for a moment, he thinks about how alone she must feel. Her mother lives in Seattle, her father is an Enforcer she can't acknowledge, and of her two previous partners, one is dead and the other is an Enforcer. Her only real friend seems to be Raven. He'd be in the same boat, except he always has his sister. He walks back to the chair and sits down. He remembers the paper that Inspector Tsunemori published on the net, before SIBYL system had gone live in the states. One of the first Enforcers she had worked with used to be an Inspector. “When you gaze long into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you,” he’d told her. Her report was gone now, restricted, too many people that read it turned latent.

"Want me to call Jake first?" Bellamy asks. She smiles at him gratefully.

"Yeah," Clarke says softly, and he brings up comms.

 

That night he has dinner with Octavia. Lincoln is away for a week to show his exhibition in Chicago, and both men worry about leaving her alone. Even though she could probably take someone in a fight. She takes one look at him and somehow knows.

"Clarke," she says, wrapping her arms around him. "Are you okay?" He sighs, returning her embrace.

"Yeah," Bellamy says into her hair. "And so is she." Octavia pulls back and lets him into the apartment where dinner is waiting.

"What happened?" Octavia asks. Bellamy shakes his head.

"She was reckless and she got hurt," Bellamy says.

"So you confessed your undying love?" Octavia teased. Bellamy snorted.

"No. I chased down the criminal and got an Enforcer to call an ambulance," he replied dryly. And then the humour leaves his expression. "An Enforcer got sent to remand." Octavia gives him a sympathetic look, but she doesn't understand his job, or the Enforcers. Like most civilians, she's a little scared of them. He thinks he would be too if he didn't work with them.

"Did you at least go to the hospital to check on her?" Octavia asks. Bellamy rolls his eyes.

"Yeah, a couple of colleagues basically shoved me out the door," Bellamy replies. Octavia grins, and her eyes sparkle with amusement.

"Ah, so it's a widely known fact that you've got it bad for Clarke?" Octavia teases him again, and he laughs.

"Yeah. And apparently everyone except me seems to know it goes both ways," Bellamy replies, and Octavia squeals and claps her hands, and he laughs at her dramatics.

"You're ridiculous," he tells her. She dismisses him with a gesture.

"So, when's the wedding?" Octavia asks. Bellamy chokes on his mouthful of food.

"There's not even a first date right now," he manages after a moment, and Octavia laughs.

"I want to be your best man," she tells him. "I look great in a suit."

"How about we let her get out of hospital before we start planning the wedding," he asks. Octavia screws up her nose, but she gives in.

"Now tell me about your day," Bellamy says, changing the subject. She lets it go gracefully, and starts telling him about her colleague, Jasper, and the crazy antics he's been up to this week.

 

Clarke's back at work the next day and cleared for active duty. He frowns at her as she sits at her computer. Jake walks up behind him, sees Clarke, and mirrors his posture. Monty looked at the curiously as he approached.

"What is going... oh," Monty says as he sees Clarke sitting at her computer. She hears his voice and turns to see the three of them frowning at her with arms folded.

"You've got to be kidding," Clarke says, folding her own arms and frowning.

"You've been cleared for active duty," Bellamy states. "What exactly did you threaten Captain Kane with? Or was it a doctor?" She glared at him.

"You could take a day," Jake suggests. "Draw something." Her glare shifts to him.

"A day wouldn't be such a bad thing," Monty suggests meekly. She tries to glare at him next, but can't, so she huffs, trying and failing not to smile.

"Now that's not fair. I can't be mad at Monty," Clarke tells them. Monty grins, victorious, and Clarke laughs at him, and Bellamy can't stop his smile.

"Seriously, Clarke, we're just worried about you. I'm sure you're fine. But I'd really appreciate it if you just took a day," Bellamy says. Clarke looks at him, suspicious.

"If you're sure I'm fine why do you want me to take a day off?" she asks. "Besides, we're getting a new Enforcer today."

"I'll tell Kane to stop the transfer until tomorrow," Bellamy tries. "I'm sure he's just as terrified of you as everyone else." Clarke looks pleased.

"You think everyone's terrified of me?" she asks. Bellamy rubs his face with his hand.

"Of course they are. You're a force of nature, Clarke," Jake says. Monty nods.

"I was scared of you for the first year," Monty admits.

"Oh Monty," Clarke says. "You're my favourite!" Monty shakes his head.

"We all know Blake is your favourite now," Monty teases her, and she blushes. Bellamy grins, and then looks at Jake.

"You were right," Bellamy tells him. "She likes me." Clarke scowls at them all again. "It's okay, Clarke, you're still cute when you scowl," he adds, consoling her. She throws her hands up in there.

"Fine, I'm going home. But you all have to be nice to me tomorrow. And you better stop that transfer, Blake," Clarke says, storming out. They watch her go, standing in smug and silent solidarity.

"You really better stop that transfer," Jake says after a moment. Bellamy thinks about taking the fullness of Clarke's wrath if he doesn't.

"Shit," Bellamy says, and walks briskly out of the office as Monty and Jake chuckle.

 

It's lunch time when his comm sounds, but it's not the WDCPSB band, it's his private line. Clarke. He didn't even know she had his number.

"Clarke," he says when he answers, looking at her her holographic image hovering above his wrist.

"Tell me you stopped the transfer," Clarke replies, not bothering with a greeting.

"I told Kane he'd face the full force of your fury if he didn't," Bellamy says. "He caved immediately. Tell me you're resting." Clarke shrugs.

"I'm not good at resting," Clarke says. "I don't like being left in my own head. And..." He gives her long enough to continue before he speaks.

"And?" Bellamy asks. Clarke scowls.

"And I miss you, okay?" she says, like she's angry at herself. Bellamy tries not to beam.

"I miss you too," he tells her. And she smiles reluctantly.

"So are you going to ask me out, or what?" Clarke asks. Bellamy laughs.

"Clarke Griffin wants to go on a date with me?" Bellamy says, teasing. "The Clarke Griffin?" She huffs out a laugh.

"Are you going to ask me or not?" Clarke demands, but she's smiling. Bellamy grins.

"Do you want to go out on a date with me?" he asks.

"Took you long enough," Clarke tells him.

"You're an asshole," Bellamy informs her. "Is that a yes?"

"You're the asshole, asshole," Clarke bites at him, but it's playful, and he suddenly wonders if it hasn't become a term of endearment over the past few months.

"Is that a no?" Bellamy asks. "Because if it is, I'm probably going to be crushed. I might need to take the week off to recover. Mope around and eat ramen. Maybe watch a rom com or two..."

"Shut up," Clarke laughs. "Of course it's a yes." Bellamy smiles at her, and he's pretty sure it can't get any wider.

"Oh good. I hate ramen," Bellamy says.

"Not rom coms?" Clarke teases back.

"Are you going to mock me or do you want me to take you out for dinner tonight?" Bellamy asks, mock serious. He loves her, and it's stupid how much, he thinks as she laughs again. She's a mess, but she's perfect.

"Dinner, definitely," Clarke tells him, with an affirmative nod.

"Pick you up at six?" Bellamy asks. She huffs.

"That's forever away. I'm bored," Clarke says. Bellamy tries not to laugh at her, but he kind of loves seeing this petulant side to her. It's playful, not at all like work-Clarke.

"You could follow Jake's advice and draw something," Bellamy suggests. "But some of us do actually have to work."

"Fine. But when I draw a defamatory portrait of you, you don't get to sue me," Clarke tells him, and then disconnects the call before he can make a rebuttal. Yeah, Octavia's right. He's definitely in love with her.

 

The picture Clarke offered him when she answered the door was of a monkey with his face. He called her an asshole and took her out for sushi. The picture ends up framed on his mantelpiece, and Clarke tells him he's a sap. But he gets to see her smile everyday, so he figures he can't be all bad. And he's almost definitely sure that 'asshole' is a term of endearment.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> DID YOU LIKE IT?
> 
> I DID.
> 
> Also, go watch Psycho-Pass because I really need to talk to more people about how hard I ship Akane Tsunemori and Shinya Kogami. 
> 
>  
> 
> TUMBLR


End file.
